New flats plan for derelict factory site

A derelict Mansfield factory could be converted into new flats, after a planning application was submitted to the district council.

Developers hope to convert the former industrial premises in Burns Street, Ladybrook, in to 34 apartments, ranging from one to three bedrooms.

Initially, plans had been submitted for the creation of more than 40 flats within the existing interior of the building, but this was scaled back following objections over parking raised by staff at Mansfield District Council.

A spokesman for Birmingham-based Holloway Foo Architects, who have been hired by the site owners to carry out the conversion, said the former factory now has no other economic purpose.

The proposed development will also make the existing building more appealing, with plans to demolish a number of extensions, which are not inkeeping with its original Victorian architecture.

The 34 new homes would also help eleviate the current housing shortage in the town, and provide low-cost accommodation for local residents, the spokesman said.

“It has been altered and extended with very little recognition to the architectural value of the building,” the spokesman added.

“Converted for residential use, it would meet the local housing shortfall. Unless it is converted, it has been rendered unfit for economic purpose.”